Monday, 18 February 2013

Monday morning random factoids from the Scotties

Monday morning random factoids from the Scotties

Here are a few more random thoughts about the Scotties Tournament of
Hearts on an early Monday morning.

Montreal 2014

Kudos to the Canadian Curling Association for choosing Montreal as
the host site for next year's Scotties.

It's a bit of a gamble, as Montreal is not prime territory for
curling in this country, but there is nothing wrong on moving into a
market like Montreal, which is a huge media market and could attract
a new audience.

The Scotties hasn't been in Quebec since 1979. Plus, Kruger is
probably one of the best sponsors in curling, so it's nice to
acknowledge them and host an event in their backyard.

Also, next year is an Olympic year, so the interest for curling by
non-curlers is always piqued. Why go to a curling hotbed when the
iron is hot? It's probably better to go to large market like
Montreal, Vancouver or a Toronto suburb such as Oshawa or
Mississauga.

It might not generate the attendance as other mid-major cities such
as London, Kingston, Red Deer or Charlottetown, but moving the
Scotties to Montreal during an Olympic year is a strategic move.

If you're going to take a gamble, might as well gamble during an
Olympic year.

Maurice Richard Arena

The arena in Montreal where the Scotties will be held next year is on
the small side—4,750, so even if a crowd of about 1,000 comes out
it won't look too empty, and if crowds are as big as they are in
Kingston—in the 3,500 range, then it will look full. But the big
thing is the television numbers.

One quick thing about the Maurice Richard Arena is the majority of
the seats are at the sides. It will be interesting to see if they add
temporary end seats for spectators next year.

The arena is not one of those spanking new arenas that host most of
the curling Grand Slams and championships. It's almost 50 years old,
so there will be no luxury boxes and no bells and whistles.

The Montreal arena hosted boxing and wrestling in the 1976 Olympics.

Nova Scotia

What is happening to Nova Scotia?

They don't look good at all.

They went into the Scotties as a dark horse playoff contender, but
have stumbled to a 0-3 start.

Manitoba

On the other hand, Jennifer Jones' team has started out on fire, with
a 3-0 record. The Jones Rink has an 87 percent shooting percentage,
which is easily tops in the Scotties field, as Team Ontario is second
at 81 percent.

They've been dominating so far.

TV games

It will be Nova Scotia versus Manitoba at the 2 p.m. draw and PEI
versus Saskatchewan as the featured game on TSN at 7:30 p.m.

Hate to say it, but that Nova Scotia versus Manitoba game looks like a blow out in the making.

An interesting match during the 2 p.m. draw will be Team Homan of
Ontario taking on Kelly Scott's B.C. squad. It will be Team Homan's
first real test, as they've jumped out to a 3-0 start but haven't had to face a frontrunner yet.
UPDATE: TSN said on Monday morning that the 2pm feature game will now be Team Canada versus Quebec.

Happy Family Day

It's Family Day here in Ontario, so I hope everyone out there has a
nice day with their families.

I intend to hang out with the son and go for a workout at the YMCA
and of course catch some women's curling action.

Some exciting family news as our family; (me, Mrs. Hurry Hard and
super son and super daughter) have signed up for our first family
bonspiel in March. Super daughter was too young to get the big rocks
down the ice up until this year, but with some work she is not fairly
consistent. I've curled with my son before and I've curled with my
wife, but this will be first time all four of us have curled
together.

Mrs. Hurry Hard might have to work that day, so I may have to recruit
a member of Team Homan to step in for Mrs. Hurry Hard. We'll see how
that goes.